ARF official urges US, UK and Israel to decide on their position on Armenian genocide.
Kiro Manoyan, director of Central Hai Dat (Armenian Cause) office of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau in Yerevan, has urged today the US, UK and Israel to decide on their position on the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
Speaking to reporters, Kiro Manoyan said the United Kingdom is the only European country, which has not yet expressed its official position on the Armenian Genocide.
"The Great Britain has been opposing itself to the whole of Europe, expressing opposite positions just to stir up controversy," Manoyan said.
Speaking about Israel, he noted that Tel-Aviv’s attempts to restore friendly relations with Turkey are overshadowing the Armenian Genocide issue.
"However, we need to examine carefully all the chances for Israeli parliament to have this issue on its agenda, especially in view of political re-shuffles there and formation of parliamentary majority", said Manoyan.
Manoyan said there is still hope that the outgoing U.S. president Barack Obama will also recognize the Armenian Genocide, as he promised during his campaign.
German lawmakers passed overwhelmingly a resolution on Thursday, June 2, recognizing the World War I massacre of Armenians by the government of the Ottoman Empire as genocide, defying Turkey's warnings that the vote could hurt ties.
Put forward by the ruling left-right coalition and the opposition Greens, the resolution entitled "Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities in 1915 and 1916" also carries the word ‘genocide’ throughout the text.
In 2015 Armenia marked the 100 anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the twentieth century. According to Armenian and many other historians, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed starting in 1915 in a systematic campaign by the government of Turkey. Turkey has been denying it for decades.
The Armenian genocide was recognized by tens of countries. The first was Uruguay that did so in 1965. Other nations are Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, 43 U.S. states.
It was recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the World Council of Churches and other international organizations. ---0----
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